NPS Photo

Hohokam Red-On-Buff pottery

Who were the Hohokam?  Archeological evidence suggests they may have descended from an earlier hunting and gathering “Archaic” culture that began in this area around 5,500 B.C.E.  Over time, as the area grew hotter and drier, wild plants and animals became less abundant.  Domesticated corn from Mesoamerica was introduced and appears to have influenced a gradual transition from hunting and gathering to a more settled farming existence.  Adapting to the dry conditions of the desert, these early farmers learned to use water from mountain run-offs and rivers to irrigate their fields.  By 300 C.E., the culture we recognize as Hohokam emerged, identified in part by their distinctive form of pottery called “red-on-buff.”

Paul Coze painting

Hohokam canal construction

The Hohokam discovered that as their villages grew, farm land adjacent to the rivers was becoming scarce. To bring water to land farther away from the rivers, they began to dig canals around 400-500 C.E., a technique the Hohokam continued to use for the next thousand years. Archeologists have discovered hundreds of miles of prehistoric irrigation canals in the Gila River valley, as well as the Salt River Valley of Phoenix, the Santa Cruz River Valley in Tucson, and on the Indian reservations of southern Arizona.

Illustration by R. Leer

A bountiful desert harvest

The crops grown by the Hohokam eventually grew to include not only corn but several varieties of beans and squash, as well as cotton and tobacco.  In addition to their crops, the Hohokam continued to make use of the many native plants and animals of the desert.  These included cactus fruits, pads and buds, agave hearts (century plant), mesquite beans, and the medicinal creosote bush.  The local game included birds, squirrels, rabbits, snakes and lizards, as well as fish and clams from the rivers and canals.  Larger game such as mule deer and bighorn sheep could be hunted in the mountains. 

Illustration by Rebecca Leer

Hohokam Canals, Gila River Valley

Once the idea of irrigation farming took hold, it spread gradually throughout central and southern Arizona. From about 600 to 900 CE, more villages were established in the Salt and Gila river valleys. Hohokam colonists moved up the Verde River valley north of Phoenix, and up the Salt river valley east of Phoenix. They also moved downstream as far west as Gila Bend. Growth of new villages and canal systems also took place along the Santa Cruz river in the Tucson area.

NPS Photo

Hohokam shell & turquoise necklace

As the Hohokam culture expanded, their contacts with neighboring tribes greatly increased.  Trade flourished, bringing material goods and ideas from far and near.  The Hohokam imported turquoise, pottery, pinyon nuts, obsidian (volcanic glass) and even sea shells from the Gulf of California and the Pacific Coast.  From Mexico came copper bells, iron pyrite mirrors, and parrots.  And what did Hohokam people have to offer in exchange?  Hohokam farmers grew surplus crops for export.  They also traded their finely crafted shell jewelry and pottery.  Casa Grande Ruins became a crossroads in the trade system.  One major route, reconstructed by archeologists, went from northern Mexico into the Tucson area, and from there into the Gila River Valley.

Casa Grande Ruins museum illustration

Hohokam Ball Court

The idea of a ball game played in an arena or court may have been imported from the Mesoamerican cultures.  Archeologists have found over 200 oval-shaped, earthen-sided structures located in large Hohokam villages throughout southern and central Arizona.  Some archeologists speculate that a game was played within these courts by two teams and a hard rubber ball.  Casa Grande Ruins National Monument preserves a Hohokam ball court which can be viewed from a public observation platform.

Casa Grande Ruins museum illustration

Hohokam Pit House

Hohokam houses changed over time.  The earliest types consisted of large oval pits dug several feet into the ground.  A brush and pole framework covered the pit, and a layer of mud was applied to the outside.  Appropriately, these structures are called “pit houses.”  Though pit houses continued to be used by the Hohokam, by the 1100's more permanent, above-ground structures began to be built.  The Hohokam used caliche, a natural concrete-like material found under the top soil throughout this region, to build houses with solid walls and flat, caliche-covered roofs. 

Frank Worth painting

Hohokam caliche house

The 1100’s also marked the beginning of several significant changes in Hohokam society.  The traditional Hohokam burial practice of cremation was expanded to include full interment burials.  Ball courts were gradually abandoned, and flat-topped, rectangular-shaped earthen structures called platform mounds were built.  Villages became more formally organized.  Caliche homes were grouped into caliche-walled compounds, and these compounds were arranged around public plazas and public structures.  The Casa Grande was built within one of these compounds and today serves as the main visitation area for the public at Casa Grande Ruins National Monument.

Frank Worth painting

Casa Grande village compound ca. 1400

The building of the Casa Grande was a major event of the Hohokam Classic Period (1100 – 1450 C.E.).  The best dating methods available indicate that this large, caliche structure was built during the 1300's.  The construction appears to have been well planned and organized, requiring tons of material and a huge cooperative effort on the part of many people.  Today we can only marvel at the Casa Grande and try to imagine what the Hohokam used it for.  Though many theories have been suggested, we still aren’t sure as to its purpose.  All we can assume is that the Casa Grande must have been very important to the Hohokam.

Cosmos Mindeleff

The Casa Grande circa 1890.

During the late 1300’s and early 1400’s, the Hohokam suffered a period of widespread depopulation and abandonment. Speculations as to the cause have included drought, floods, disease, invasion, earthquakes, internal strife, and salinization of farmland. The result was that by about 1450 C.E., the Hohokam culture came to an end. Today, several Native American tribes tell us they have ancestral links to the Hohokam. Their cultural traditions, together with on-going archeology and the continued interest of visitors at Casa Grande Ruins, all combine to keep the legacy of the Hohokam alive to this day.